Countries that use the euro currency have been suffering from the highest inflation levels since 1997, with those hardest hit being countries bordering Russia.
Inflation in the European Union reached a peak of 8.1 percent in May, a record that was broken for the seventh time in a row, amid rising energy and food prices resulting mainly from the war in the east of the continent.
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Inflation in the 19 countries that use the euro currency soared beyond the previous peak in March and April, when it stood at about 7.4 percent. This is according to data published on Tuesday by the European Union’s Statistics Agency.
With these numbers, inflation in the bloc is now at its highest level since the start of the euro in 1997.
The sharp rise in prices is burdening households and putting enormous pressure on state officials to move quickly and efficiently to prevent further increases in the cost of living.
Energy prices soared 39.2 percent, a figure that underscores how the war and the accompanying global energy crisis are costing the lives of 343 million people in European bloc countries.
After a few days ago the EU decided to boycott 90 percent of Russian oil imports by the end of the year, senior European economist Andrew Cunningham said: “Energy inflation is expected to remain high, for longer than expected.”
Following the decision, Brent crude oil, which is the international standard, rose to $ 120 a barrel.
Russia’s neighbors who stopped importing gas from it were among those hardest hit. Estonia’s inflation rate reached -20% while in Lithuania it stands at 18.5% and in Latvia 16.4%.
Food, alcohol and tobacco prices rose 7.5 percent in May, another sign that the war between Russia and Ukraine, a major global supplier of wheat and other agricultural commodities, is raising prices across the fitting.
Prices of goods such as clothing, electrical appliances, cars, computers and books rose by 4.2 percent, and prices of ancillary services rose by 3.5 percent.
In Poland, which does not use the euro currency, inflation in May soared to a 24-year high of 13.9%, the country’s statistics office said on Tuesday.
These record-breaking numbers add pressure on state and bloc officials to raise interest rates from particularly low levels to curb price rises, though it could further stifle economic recovery.
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